I fished since I was little and now I got a boat and fish for perch and walleye. well this summer my cousin talked me into buying waders and to go steelhead fishing with spinner baits and I caught a huge steelhead my 2nd time out there. well I see others fly fishing instead and it looks really fun to learn. it also seems like a challenge! OK so I've tried to read up alot on this and wanna start fly fishing. I don't wanna start of really expensive as I might not like it. (I doubt that) But I didn't wanna spend a fortune until I am sure I can get the idea of casting and catching fish 1st before I invest more.. So after reading up a lil I ordered a martin fly combo. Its a 3 piece 8ft rod with a 5/6th reel and its already spooled with backing. fly line and a 5 x leader with a custom fly assortment and getting started booklet. It was originally 40 bux but I got it on sale online for 20 bux. I kno it sounds like it will fall apart on the 1st cast but it had 5 star review out of 5 stars and everyone says its great and well worth the money! plus to me to learn fly fishing for 20 bux is worth it because all u can lose is 20 bux. Now that I read online more i see this weight rod isn't great for steelhead and that you need a 8 wt rod instead. well I am gonna use this for smallmouth and bluegills and so forth to practice in the summer and then maybe grab a 8 wt for steelhead this fall! this combo says it has a 5/6 rim controlled reel. whats rim controlled mean? can you adjust the drag or is there just one setting? I am new to this so sorry for asking stupid questions. also I was gonna grab up some terrestrial flies like bees, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, ants, and so forth since these seem to be soemthing a bluegill or bass would eat. any other tips or suggestions? hopefully this rod/reel combo works good enough to get me started.

Fishaholic69

04-23-2007, 08:57 PM

also I read something like you have to use 5x tippet or 5x leader with the 5/6 fly line? can you use stronger leader or tippet or will it not work? does 5/6 mean you can use either 5 x or 6x? sorry I am confused. I don't know anyone that fly fishes either so I can't really ask anyone

juro

04-23-2007, 09:19 PM

Whoa if you separate your questions clearly they will be much easier to answer.

Rim controlled means you can use your hand like a brake pad to slow down those huge runaway steelhead you didn't mean to hook ;)

Don't worry about the "X" tippet ratings now. Just go lighter if the fish don't eat, and heavier if they break if off. You can look it up later but it's spring and time to fish.

That stuff is handy for rules of thumb but for now you need to just see what it's all about first hand.

If you want to have some fun get some rubber legged poppers. Blugills can't lay off them any time of day and if it's early or later in the evening the bass will smash them too.

Use a crappy leader and practice casting on the grass too. Visit a fly shop and befriend the pro staff. You will learn a lot quicker.

good luck on this journey

(btw - moved to getting started)

Fishaholic69

04-23-2007, 10:36 PM

thnx for the tips and sorry for posting in the wrong spot. So can you use a 5/6 rod for steelhead then or will it snap the line or break the rod? one more question. is the rim control the drag system?? or does it have a built in drag when you reel the fish in like a spinning rod? just talked my cousins into grabbing one up also! just checked and It was shipped out today.!

flytyer

04-24-2007, 04:32 PM

The Martin rim-control drag reel you purchased has only an unadjustable click pawl for a drap. This type of drap is designed to simply prevent the reel spool from overrunning when you are stripping line to cast, it is not like the proper drap you have on your spinning reel.

However, don't worry about that because unlike spinning, you cast the line and not the lure (i.e. fly). The fly line provides the weight to cast the rod instead of the lure providing the weight to cast as it does in spin fishing.

As Juro mentioned, don't worry about the other stuff. Having someone from a fly shop or an experience fly fisherman helping you learn to fly cast off the water (on the grass) will cut your time to learn fly casting basics to 30 minutes to an hour and save you a lot of grief and frustration.

Go get yourself some small rubber legged poppers and go fish for the bluegills and go fish. Plus, you never know when a bass will decide to take one.

Fishaholic69

04-25-2007, 01:38 PM

thanks guys! got the rod in the mail today! looks awesome! pretty great quality for 20 bux I am surprised!!! I can't wait to try it out! But the weather all of a sudden looks like its gonna rain for at least a week straight!! what kinda luck is that lol. oh well maybe its a sign to study up some more! I got me a couple fly fishing videos from the library! plus I need to grab up some flies and poppers and insects with rubber legs!! I will keep u posted

logy

04-28-2007, 01:18 PM

good luck.. just practice!

jsteelhead

05-01-2007, 03:01 PM

The 5/6 you are referring to is the line weight of the reel or rod you were purchasing. You want to match the line weight with the rod weight. I would stay away from rods that claim they are a 5/6 or 3/4 etc. From my experience they only label rods like this when they haven't hit either line weight right so they figure, what the hell I guess it is both.

The size of the line doesn't have anything to do with what size tippet you use. Adjust the tippet size according to the conditions, for example, if you are fishing to really spooky fish on smooth water with small flies then drop down to smaller tippet like 6X, if you are fishing bigger bugs on riffle or pocket water where fish have less time to react, then bump up your tippet to 3X or 4X, it will give you better turnover/presentation and will help in bringing the fish in without completely wearing them down.

Basically, just remember when you get on the water to look at what type of fishing you are going to be doing and adjust you rig accordingly. It will be a challenge at first, but don't hesitate trying different things until you find what works for you, and with experience you will develop systems that you can use for all types of water conditions.

Also, my thoughts on what gear to buy when starting out is this. Buy the best rod and line you can afford. These are the key components to proper flyfishing setups. If you must skimp then do it with the reel, especially for trout where most the time it is no more than a line holder. For steelhead though you will definitely want a good real because a hot steelie will put your reel through the motions the fish couple runs. See if your local shop has a loaner rod or rental that you can use for that first trip to see if steelhead flyfishing is something you want to keep doing. If it is then you can purchase accordingly after that. I've seen too many guys buy cheap gear to try and save a buck only to realize shortly after that it is just making things harder on them. Not only will you not get much for it when you try and resell it, but the cheap gear often prevents you from learning as quickly as you might with good gear. Just my thoughts, take them for what they are worth.

Fishaholic69

05-02-2007, 11:26 PM

i feel you man. I almost wish i did go for a good one at 1st I didn't kno one thing about fly fishing but what the hell i will get a basic rythem down i can save and get a good one. like i said this rod isn't for steelhead because its too small. i will get a better setup for this fall. this is just a practice rod. whats kind of rod and reel set up do you recomend? anything $100 or less? preferebly a 8 wt? I am going out this week for sure to try it out. i also grabbed some bass and blue gill flies up! got nymphs and terrestrials and a streamer. hope i can understand the basics! i am watching a few fly fishing films and hope I can do this!

jsteelhead

05-03-2007, 11:34 AM

I'm not sure I could recommend anything in that price range that would be very good. Maybe try bumping up your budget to a couple hundred and then look for a entry level Scott or I hate to say it but Sage. They actually have some decent entry level two handers you could probably pick up for fairly cheap compared to some of the top rods. The advantage you have with something like that is you get the warrantee and if you ever decide to buy a higher end rod (which if you stick with it you will) you at least have a name brand rod that would be worth selling. I know it is tough to get all the gear to begin with, but it is just so important to have a good rod.

Depending on where you are fishing would determine what weight/length rod you will want. In general though I would recommend a 8wt. in a 14 foot length, or something around that at least. Something like this isn't always the perfect choice, but it is a good all around setup for many western rivers.

Fishaholic69

05-20-2007, 11:58 PM

i got me that 20 dollar martin 6 wt. its ok but the reel sux. but now i just got a cabela's 8wt combo st john! it looks awesome and has disc drag. can't wait to use it for steelhead i just strung it up which was a good learning experience but not all that hard as i thought! going to fish tomorrow. will use nymphs with a indicator for gills or bass. just to try to catch my 1st fish on a fly pole!i will bring both poles

tie-dye-fly-guy

05-21-2007, 10:55 PM

call it a rod, your weapon, or even a stick. just never a pole. never again.